Cooking up Smiles..Across the Miles

Tag Archives: easy

Hello Guys. Thanks for sticking around. Hope 2018 is going great for you. I have been trying my best to get back to blogging but the girls keep me extremely occupied. I hope to be more regular but I really appreciate each one of yours effort to stay connected. Thanks a bunch 🙂

Today I am sharing a delicious coconut cake I baked a few days ago. It turned out much better than expected. Extremely soft and oh so flavorful. And when I shared a video of my Mid Night Baking on Facebook, I received so many requests for the recipe. So here I am again, back to writing. Frankly I owe it to you guys for keeping me motivated. Thanks for all the requests and appreciations, this cake is especially for you guys.

So Lets get onto the recipe.

Ingredients:

Freshly grated coconut or Dry desiccated coconut – 1 cup

All purpose flour – 1 cup

Semolina or Rava Sooji – 1 cup

Sugar – 1.5 cup

Thick Yogurt – 1 cup

Milk – 1 cup (you might need more or less depending on the thickness of your curd)

Oil – 1/2 cup

Baking Powder – 1 tsp

Baking Soda – 1/2 tsp

Sliced Almonds and Pistachios – for Garnish

Procedure:

Preheat your oven to 350F and grease an 8 inch cake pan well with nonstick spray.

Add in the wet ingredients – Yogurt, Oil and Milk. Note that the quantity of milk used will vary based on how thick your yogurt is. We are looking for the consistency of a fairly thick but flowing batter (not runny). Just how a regular cake batter should be.

Mix everything until well combined. Pour the batter in the greased pan and lightly tap it on the kitchen counter to release the air bubbles. Garnish the cake batter with sliced almonds and pistachios.

Finally bake it in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Since all ovens work differently, its best to check after 25 minutes. If your cake starts to brown but is still uncooked at the center, cover it with an aluminum foil and continue cooking till the toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Once done, take it out from the oven and let it rest on the kitchen counter for at least 20 minutes before unmolding it. Slice and enjoy this delicious cake.

So that’s how I made this delightful cake. Do let me know if you give this a try.

Hello everyone and a big thanks for still following me. My last post, SELRES_be1d1d0d-bb5f-40be-8ddb-031cfb02c5ceCarrot CakeSELRES_be1d1d0d-bb5f-40be-8ddb-031cfb02c5ce, is more than one year old now and so is my younger daughter. Life has been so busy that food blogging has taken a back seat for now. My girls make me so crazy but I wouldn’t want it any other way. The happiness kids bring to your life is above anything else and makes it all worth it. I do hope to get back to blogging, just don’t know when that will happen though.

I wasn’t planning on writing this post, which explain why I only have this lousy picture of the dish. I had made this Paneer curry at my elder daughter’s 5th birthday party and when I shared a video of it on my social media, I was flooded with recipe requests and finally decide to take out some time to pen it down. So thank you everyone who pushed me to share the recipe, this post is specially for you all.

Paneer Pepper Masala (Yeah I made up that name) is loosely inspired from the famous Paneer Tikka Masala recipe and is a much quicker version but an absolutely delicious one. Without wasting any more time, lets head on to the recipe.

Ingredients:

Onion – 2 medium, chopped

Tomatoes – 3 medium, chopped

Garlic – 4 cloves, chopped

Ginger – 1/2 inch stick, chopped

Oil – 4 tbsp., divided

Garam Masala Powder – 1 tsp

Coriander Powder – 1 tsp

Red Chilly Powder – 1/2 tsp

Turmeric Powder – 1/4 tsp

Cumin Powder – 1/2 tsp

Salt – as per taste

Kasuri Methi Powder – 1 tsp

Heavy Cream – 1/4 cup

Paneer or Indian Cottage Cheese – 500 Gms, cut into cubes

Onion – 1 medium, Halved and layers removed

Green and red pepper – 1 each, cut into cubes

Cilantro Leaves for garnish

Method:

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and add in the chopped ginger and garlic and sauté it for a few minutes. Add in the chopped 2 onions and cook for 7 – 8 minutes till they are nicely cooked.

Now add in the chopped tomatoes and let the whole thing cook for another 5 minutes till the tomatoes are soft and mushy and start leaving oil. Turn off the gas and take it out on a plate to cool down. Finally blend this onion tomato paste in a blender and make a smooth paste and keep aside. You can strain this masala too if you like and have time.

Now in the same pan, add 1 tbsp. oil and add in the cubed layers of onion and sauté it on medium high flame. We are looking to give the onions a nice crisp. Now add in the cubed green and red peppers and do the same. Once, all three are nicely charred, take them off the flame and set aside.

Add the last 1 tsp of oil in the same pan, and sauté the cubed paneer cubes for a few minutes. You can skip this step and just use the paneer as is in the curry.

Now its time to assemble and bring together the final dish. In the same pan, add the onion tomato masala paste we had prepared earlier, and let it cook for a few minutes. Add in all the spices – salt, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and chilly powder. Mix everything well and cook for another minute or so.

Add in the sautéed onion, peppers cubes and paneer to this gravy. Cover and cook everything for 2 -3 minutes on medium flame.

Finally do a taste test to make sure all the spices are as per your preference. You can also add 1 tsp sugar to balance out the spices if you like.

As a last step add the kasuri methi powder and heavy cream. Let it simmer for 2 minutes and turn off the gas.

Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves and serve with your choice of Naan or Rice.

You can also use extra firm tofu instead of paneer. Just make sure to keep it pressed down under a heavy object for at least 30 minutes before cooking.

…………
So that’s how I made this paneer dish. Do let me know if you give this a try.

Thanks again for sticking by and reading my blog. I really appreciate that.

Welcome back to my page. I am so glad you have stopped by. Call me crazy but yeah this is my third tandoori recipe on my blog after Whole Tandoori Cauliflower and Tandoori Chicken. I do really like the flavors here, just marinate and bake. It doesn’t get any easier than this. Without wasting any more time, let’s make some delicious tandoori salmon. Feel free to use your choice of fish here.

Ingredients:

Salmon Fish – 1 pound

Thick yogurt – 3 tbsp

Ginger and Garlic paste – 2 tbsp.

Lemon Juice – 1 tbsp

Oil – 2 tbsp., more for basting the fish, as needed

Salt to taste

Tandoori Masala – 2 tbsp. (See notes for recipe or use store bought)

Method:

Wash your fish well and soak it dry. Meanwhile, mix together the yogurt, ginger garlic paste, lemon juice, salt and the tandoori masala. Now coat the fish well in marinade. Finally drizzle 2 tbsp. oil on top and mix well. The oil helps the marinade to stick to the fish.

A zip lock works best here. Just transfer the marinade and fish pieces to a zip lock, mix well and let it rest in the fridge for at least 1 – 2 hours.

Once you are ready to cook, preheat your oven to 400F. Line a baking dish with foil. Carefully place the marinated fish on the baking dish and bake for 15 minutes, turning mid ways to ensure even cooking. Apply some oil, if needed.

You know the fish is done when it flakes easily with a fork. Now, turn on the broil or grill mode and cook for a few minutes to get a beautiful color and crisp to your fish.

Serve it hot with some mint chutney and onion rings.

Notes:

Tandoori Masala Recipe

Red Chilly Powder – 1 tsp

Coriander Seeds – 1 tsp

Cumin Seeds – 2 tsp

Nutmeg Powder – 1/2 tsp

Black pepper Corns – 1 tsp

Whole Cloves – 1 tsp

Cinnamon Stick – 1 inch piece

Paprika – 1 tsp

Red color – 1/4 tsp (optional)

Roast all these spices in a pan for a few minutes until fragrant and ground to a fine powder. Use as needed.

So that is how I made this delicious fish. Do let me know if you give this a try.

A big hello. Hope everyone is enjoying the warmer weather and looking forward to a gorgeous summer. Unless of course if you are in India, its a little bit too hot this year, as I have heard. Hope the rains bring some much needed relief soon. As for us, we are so ready for summer. 🙂

Sorry for missing in action for so long. I have not really been cooking much these days. There is however an exciting news coming up. Watch this space for more details.

Due to short of energy and time on hand, I have been experimenting a lot with my slow cooker these days. Besides trying a lot of Indian curries, I have also made some chicken, chili, meatballs etc. in this wonderful pot and have been more than pleased. 😀

For today’s post, I am making some cheese stuffed meatballs in my slow cooker. You can definitely bake them too. Check the notes below to know how. Without further delay, lets move on to the recipe.

Cut each cheese sticks in about 6 pieces and freeze them for about 20 minutes.

In the meanwhile, take a mixing bowl and add in the ground meat, egg, bread crumbs, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Mix everything very well.

Now take out the cheese from the freezer. Scoop out a little bit of this meat mixture and roll it into a ball. Now push inside a cheese cube in the center of the ball and roll it again to seal the cheese inside the meat balls. Repeat the same with all the meatballs.

Grease the inside of your slow cooker and add some marinara sauce at the bottom. Now place the meatballs in a single line. Top with more marinara sauce and stack the remaining meatballs as needed. Top with some more sauce to cover the meatballs.

Cook this on low for about 4 hours or on high for 2 hours. The meat should no longer be pink.

Finally, serve it with some boiled spaghetti and garnish it with chopped parsley. Dig in.

Notes:

If you would like to bake the meatballs, just place them on a greased baking dish and bake in a preheat oven at 400 F for 20 minutes.

You can also make the meatballs ahead of time and freeze them. Cook them as needed.

So here is how I made this delicious and cheesy meatballs.

Thanks for stopping by at my page. Do let me know if you try this out.

For today’s post I am sharing another dhokla recipe. This one is made with maize flour or Makai ka atta and also has some corn kernels to bite into. A pure healthy delight I must say. If you are like me and have lots of Makai ka atta left from those Maki ki roti you thought but never made, here is something you can use it for. And trust me, the dhokla is so good, you won’t regret buying some maize flour especially to make this.

Lightly grease a 7 inch pan or thali and bring water to boil for steaming.

Once you are ready to steam, add the eno fruit salt to the dhokla mix and mix gently.

Steam the dhokla on medium flame for at least 20 minutes, till a toothpick inserted in the center of the dhokla comes out clean.

While the dhokla is steaming, we can make the tempering. Heat oil in a small pan and add in the mustard seeds. Once they crackle add the curry leaves, followed by sesame seeds. Cook everything for a few minutes and turn off the gas.

Once the dhokla has cooled down to room temperature, pour this tempering over dhokla and garnish with cilantro leaves and coconut.

Cut the dhokla into desired pieces and serve with your favorite chutney.

So that is how I made this delightful dhokla. Do let me know if you try it out.

Are you looking for a quick dinner that is ready in less than 20 minutes. True to its name, this pasta cooks all in one pot with its sauce and is ready to eat in half the time you will take to make it the traditional way. …

Method:
1. Heat oil in a large skillet and add the minced garlic and onion. Cook them for a few minutes.
2. Add in the red pepper and spinach and cook for a minute.
3. Next add in the milk, water, salt and pepper and let it just come to a simmer.
4. Break the pasta and add it to the boiling milk mixture. Mix gently and let the pasta cook for about 10 minutes at medium low, stirring every few minutes.
5. Cook just until the pasta is tender and switch off the flame.
6. Finally add in the chilly flakes and Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Hello everyone. Its that time of the month where I do my monthly column for the B’khush Magazine. It is an online magazine, catering to the South Asian population around the world. They write about varied topics ranging from fitness, beauty, parenting, DIY projects, recipes etc. Do check out their website – B’Khush – Upload Thoughts, Download Happiness.

My column in the magazine is called “Healthy Bites“. Through this column, I like to share such recipes that provide the nutrition, taste great and most of all you can enjoy them guilt free. Follow me here to make some easy and healthy dishes that you wouldn’t feel guilty about when you take that second serving.

Today I am bringing another healthy appetizer for you, just skip the cheese if you like, it will still be as delicious. These stuffed sweet peppers look very pretty and is sure to please all your guests.